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Starship Technology (TF:C Verse)
FTL Magnetic Drive The Magnetic Drive is a method of traveling faster than the speed of light which does not involve the use of mass relays or Element Zero. The basic principle involved from long to short ranged jump within the space surrounding the spacecraft. Aside from the widely used Mass Effect Drive in Citadel space, Magnetic Drive was the preferred method of FTL travel of many races including the Skinnies, Terrans and Pseudo-Arachnids. Magnetic Drive relies on a form of magnetic phase shift that protects a vessel and insulates it from the mass-increasing effects of relativistic speeds in physical space. A ship in this state cannot be harmed by debris unless it comes across something with significantly more solid mass then the ship, as gravity is the only thing that can affect a ship in this state. Magnetic Drive starship requires hydrogen fuel as its main source of energy generation. While this is stored in large tanks that run along the armored underside of most vessels, a starship's primary means of fueling itself for any transit is the atomic scoop mounted to all ships that are expected to make voyages between stars (as opposed to intersystem ships that never leave the orbital rings of a given star). This induction device takes in stray elements in the form of gas, and fractures the atoms into hydrogen atoms, taking the energy from the fracking and the burning of the atoms. In this way, starships in motion generate some of their own required fuel, but this is not always possible. Dark matter is commonly collected, and is the most common fuel source. Mass Effect Drive The Mass Effect Drive worked by exposing element zero to electric currents, creating mass effect fields. It reduces the mass of the starship, to a point where velocities faster than the speed of light are possible. With a mass effect drive, roughly a dozen light-years can be traversed in the course of a day's cruise without bending space-time and causing time dilation. The precise maximum speed and the time this acceleration can be maintained varies depending on the exact type of FTL drive being used. In general, the larger the drive, the longer the ship can run at FTL. Eezo-based starships often use "fusion torch", a type of rocket engine which vents the plasma of a ship's power plant. Fusion torches offer powerful acceleration at the cost of difficult heat management. Torch fuel is fairly cheap: helium-3 skimmed from gas giants and deuterium extracted from seawater or cometary bodies. Propellant is hydrogen, likewise skimmed from gas giants. Ship Armor and Shielding APLC (Anti-Plasma and Laser Composite) Coating Federation ships have armor designed to take a hit from a plasma bug using a steel alloy frame with 2 inch panels, above that there is a 4 inch panel of Ceramic armor running the length of the ship, layered on top of that is a coating designed to dispel or absorb the heat from plasma and laser based attacks. While sufficient against micrometeoroid and small meteors, large scale kinetic attacks, like ramming, have proven... Disastrous. Kinetic Barriers Kinetic barriers, colloquially called "shields", provide protection against most mass accelerator weapons. Whether on a starship or a soldier's suit of armor, the basic principle remains the same. Kinetic barriers are repulsive mass effect fields projected from tiny emitters. These shields safely deflect small objects traveling at rapid velocities. This affords protection from bullets and other dangerous projectiles, but still allows the user to sit down without knocking away their chair. Despite these good attributes, shielding afforded by kinetic barriers fare extremely poor against extremes of temperature, toxins, or radiation, and most importantly energy-based weapons, which could easily bypass these shields. Ablative Coating A warship's kinetic barriers reduce the damage from solid objects, but can do nothing to block GARDIAN lasers, particle beams, and other forms of Directed Energy Weapon (DEW). The inner layer of warship protection consists of ablative armor plate designed to vaporize when heated. The vaporized armor material scatters a DEW beam, rendering it ineffectual. This method however was apparently less effective against Federation and Skinnie High-output laser cannons and Pseudo-Arachnids Plasma-based weapons as most of these weapons have higher intensity ratings compared to the Point Defense GARDIAN lasers, designed to brute force their way through much thicker specialized plating. A scaffold was built around the interior pressure hull, with sheets of ablative armor hung from the structure. Ships typically have multiple layers of armor separated by empty baffles, spaces often used for cargo storage. Cruisers, which lack the internal space to fit dedicated fighter hangars, store the shipboard fighter complement in the baffles. It is not unknown for enlisted crew to build illicit alcohol distilleries in some obscure corner of the baffles, safe from prying eyes. Silaris Anti-laser Coating Asari-made Silaris coating can resist Federation Lasers and Pseudo-Arachnids Plasma weapons to a limited degree. Its one of the best starship protection available but its high procurement cost prevented the wide-usage on larger warships. The armor is nearly unsurpassed in strength because its central material, carbon nanotube sheets woven with diamond Chemical Vapor Deposition, are crushed by mass effect fields into super-dense layers able to withstand extreme temperatures. That process also compensates for diamond's brittleness. Diamond armor itself has two limiting disadvantages. First, while nanotubes and CVD-diamond construction have become cheaper in recent years, it remains prohibitively expensive to coat starships or aircraft larger than fighters in Silaris material. Second, the armor must be attached to the ship's superstructure, so shock waves from massive firepower such as nuclear weaponry or mass drivers can still destroy the metals beneath the armor itself. A popular misconception holds that the diamond composition of Silaris armor gives it a sparkle. In fact, atmospheric nitrogen impurities during the super-hot forging process give the armor a metallic gray or yellow sheen. Starship armaments Laser Beam Cannons The Terran Federation's Navy uses energy weapons on most ships, including Fast Attack Ships and John A. Warden Type Dreadnoughts, as well as on most defense installations. These directed energy laser cannons are amongst the most powerful naval weapons of the era, rivaling the Citadel's Mass Accelerator cannons. They come in two classes, High and Low density, called as such for the density of focusing lenses, the higher density has further reach but lack stopping power, while low density weapons scatter more, diffusing the beam but inflicting greater plasma damage giants ships. As of the Third Bug War, laser cannons are still the primary shipboard artillery on most Federation warships. Their combat proven effectiveness against well armored Bug ships and capabilities to bypass kinetic barriers have been among the few reasons why they're still in service and constantly upgraded. The Petolemaic Hegemony, also known as "Skinnies" also extensively uses energy weapons on their warships, the Skinnies in general have a better understanding of shipboard laser weapon technology, but due to their war-torn conditions and fragmented society, their naval weapon developments are inconsistent and often found in maligned conditions due to lack of maintenance and training. One major disadvantage of Ship-mounted lasers is that the beam could become vulnerable to strong magnetic fields, which could easily disperse the beam and eventually cause a loss in coherence. Mass Accelerators A mass accelerator propels a solid metal slug using precisely-controlled electromagnetic attraction and repulsion. The slug is designed to squash or shatter on impact, increasing the energy it transfers to the target. If this were not the case, it would simply punch a hole right through, doing minimal damage. Accelerator design was revolutionized by element zero. A slug lightened by a mass effect field can be accelerated to greater speeds, permitting projectile velocities that were previously unattainable. If accelerated to a high enough velocity, a simple paint chip can impact with the same destructive force as a nuclear weapon. However, mass accelerators produce recoil equal to their impact energy. This is mitigated somewhat by the mass effect fields that rounds are suspended within, but weapon recoil is still the prime limiting factor on slug velocity. Plasma cannons Bug plasma is a form of super concentrated super heated acid that is ignited upon firing. Used for both anti orbital fire and artillery, on Mobile Infantry positions, plasma bugs are rightly feared for their mobility and numbers. In addition, the Scorpion Bug fires direct-energy blast of plasma against troopers and obstacles. However the Scorpion's plasma is many times weaker than that of the Plasma bug's. Exactly how the Bugs are able to contain and fire plasma is unknown, because usually the plasma is so hot that electromagnets are required to hold it and plasma particles tend to quickly disperse in an atmosphere due to friction from air. It is theorized the fuel is produced in the bug, which uses mucus similar to many mammal's lungs and stomachs. Micro Missiles A small type of guided ordinances used on Federation warships and starfighters, these missiles are smaller than their 21st Century counterparts and packed much more powerful High-Explosive Warheads. The advancements in technology have enabled smaller missiles with less than 25cm diameter which in turn, enabled fighters to carry more missiles for their internal ordnance bay. These missiles use a large variety of payloads, from nuclear weapons to dummy rockets. Planet Cracking Bomb Also known as NOVA Bomb, this quantum accelerated fusion bomb is one of the many WMDs utilized by the Federation as the last resort and deterrent weapon against the Arachnids. Unlike conventional Nuclear ordnances, ship-board NOVA bomb was designed to be dropped from Orbital level to attain hyper-sonic speed before penetrating deep beneath the planet crust and detonating the core, which in turn caused an internal explosion which caused the entire planet to blow off and completely vaporized into lifeless chunk of rocks. Yielding at 50 billion gigatons, this weapon remained one of the most destructive WMDs in existence. The Federation however have no qualm in using these weapons against the Arachnids, which was demonstrated in their use on Klendathu to clear off the Arachnid Infestation in the system.Category:Terran Federation:Contact